Great thin-crust pizza in the area between northern Michigan Avenue and the heart of Lincoln Park. Â Wife and I enjoyed our thin crust pizza. Â Recommend sticking to the more traditional selections. Â
As others have said, you enter by going below the sign and through a little underground passage to the hidden door on your right. Â It's a nice sedate environment inside with a mix of locals and families.
Well, I'm a dumbass. Bricks has been on my radar for a while and only now have I actually eaten their pie. And now, I feel like a dumbass for not eating their pizza sooner.
This past saturday I finally had a chance to sample from Bricks as they are friends with the people at Domaine Wine Storage. So, we had a lot of Bricks pizza for the tasting. When I was told that, a smile was put on my face as I knew I'd finally break my Bricks cherry.
Since there was a lot of pizza for a lot of people, that meant I got to try a couple of them. To start, I was a fan of everything we got (a mushroom based pizza, bbq chicken, and an assorted peppers pie), but the bbq chicken was the real star. This was the one I kept going back to along with the assorted peppers slices.
These were all thin crust done in the classic Chicago thin crust pieces. I loved the crust on these. It was crisp and just really good on the whole.
I need to get my own order from Bricks in the future. I'm generally a happy guy when it comes to pizza, but Bricks did it right IMO.
Was here tonight for dinner. I love the atmosphere. Dark lighting, red candles. Pizza was good. Got half a Popeye, and half pepperoni, ham, banana pepper, and sausage. Slutty ravioli was better than expected, had some spice to it. I think there is ground sausage in the filling. Waitress was nice. I do prefer my pizza cut the regular way as opposed to squares but whatever. I would return
Review Source:Solid pizza place right here. Their crust is perfect-- thin and crispy. They have tons of different and unique pizza options. One of my favorites is the clam pizza with white sauce. Although the place has a kind of dungeon-y feel to it (it's in a basement), the pizza definitely makes up for it!
Review Source:This my my moms favorite pizza joint in Chicago, so I knew I was in for a treat.
I love the underground location. Totally chill and cozy. They have a bar to accommodate your alcoholic beverage needs, some good music, and plenty of tables for you and your friends/family. There is awesome art and decor that really adds to this place' personality.
This restaurant is very unique, and something you could bring friends, go on a date, etc. Perfect for all casual gatherings.
This place AWESOME!!! First let me say I went there for dinner at 7pm on New Years Eve. There was no issue getting right in. We were seated right away with our drink orders taken. They had a wide selection of beers and wine, while also offering many other drink choices. The pesto, cheese bread appetizer was a great alternative to red sauce, and was quick to come out. the build your own pizza was a great choice for us, because we both have dietary restrictions. The only thing that could of made this place a 5 star for me was if they offered vegan cheese. The pizza came out fresh, hot and crispy. We were pleasantly surprised when the bill came. It was a great price for everything that we had. I will defiantly go back again.
Review Source:Got a half Popey (spinach, tomato, mozz, basil, roasted garlic) and half painful (jalapeno's, mozz, tomato base sauce, and spicy pepperoni) and it was really spot on, a solid thin crust with a good crunch. Fair warning, the painful had some serious heat, I was sweating. Good beer specials almost every day. I will be back. Really cool vibes, it is underground.
Review Source:A better version of Rosati's?!? Â Don't know what's the hype about this place. For living in the pizza Mecca city, I was thinking this was average at best. Besides the mass amount of ingredients you can choose from or the chi related names, there's nothing that would draw me back to this place.
Even the apps were meh. Whatever the shrimp dish was they were def shrimpy shrimp! Â No joke they are big as my thumb nail and my hands are not big! Â lol
I really wanted to like this restaurant. Â The atmosphere was fantastic, if a little offhand in the service, and the promise of a new great place for pizza was intriguing. Â But I have to say, after reading all these great reviews I have to wonder if both my husband and I were eating in the wrong place! Â We ordered the spaghetti and meatballs for our daughter, and the goat cheese pizza (I forgot what it was called) for us. Â
First off - when we ordered the spaghetti, the server told us some people considered it spicy but she didn't think it was. Â Not being typically shy about that kind of thing we took her at her word, but let me tell you -- it was spicy. Â That level of spicy is called arrabiata, not meat sauce. Â Also, the pasta was just kinda limp and unexciting. Â I could boil better at home...and for the price, I'd expect for sauce on it.
Second, the pizza. Â I'm not a pizza snob by any means -- I hardly ever meet a pizza I don't like. Â As I said I really wanted to like it, but it was blah. Â Lackluster. Â I am from Chicago, and I have had loads of great pizza. Â For instance, Ranalli's right next door has great pizza. Â This stuff we had was just a kind of spongy crust that didn't know if it wanted to be thick or thin, and it had no taste. There was no sauce to speak of -- I got the idea they were trying to skimp where they thought no one would really notice. Â The red peppers kind of overwhelmed it and the goat cheese seemed slightly over-cooked. Â I suppose we could go back for a different pizza and try again, but frankly there are so many other places to try, I doubt we will. Too bad....
When walking through the dark alley-like area to get to the entrance, you might feel like you're about to get mugged. But once you pass that, an amazing pizza place awaits you. I had the petaluma club pizza, and it was amazing. Not only was the food great, but the service was excellent, too. Our group of 13 was probably quite frustrating at times (i.e. some showed up late, most couldn't decide what to order, etc.), but our server remained friendly and attentive. I plan to return and try some other pizzas!
Review Source:THIS PIZZA IS WONDERFUL!!! Â While I have only been twice, both times were great experiences!! Â Underground area with low ceilings over local and unique experience!!
Love the goat cheese app, just the right balance and served with yummy little toasts. Â We always order the Painful and while incredibly delish!! Â It's painful to eat (lots of fresh jalapenos) and painful the next 12 or so hours. Â It's delish however, so you will have to be the judge of whether or not it's worth it!! I read some people get the jalapenos on the side which I may try next time. Â We have also had the slutty ravoli which were pretty good, but not my all time fav.
LOVE LOVE LOVE!
THIS is what I call pizza! This place had my favorite thin crust pizza~!
It's underground and reminds me of a speakeasy, I did look it up and it never was one but I still go there with the illusion and I dig it. It's very dark and ambient and they have awesome artwork on the walls.
My top choice is the Painful - spicy pepperoni, purple onion, fresh jalapeno (and I mean FRESH), garlic, tomato sauce, and mozzarella. YUM! But get the jalapenos on the side if you value your bowel movements later. ha ha.
They have such a variety of pizza though, and same goes for beer! This place is worth every penny I can eat here every day for the rest of the year (2013). Â
I forgot mention one thing though..... THE STAFF ROCKS. Never had poor service. And even if I do in the future the food will make up for it!
TRY THIS PLACE ASAP!!!
Bricks is a great gem of flat, crispy, creative pizza in the deep-dish sea that is Chicago. There are plenty of options for all types of 'vores--vegetarian options, all-meat options, and something in the middle. I tried the self-titled Brickhouse (artichokes, red peppers, garlic) and was very satisfied. The beer selection is also quite good and the prices reasonable. I had two bottles along with my pizza and spent about $20.
The place itself is pretty small and popular, so on weekend nights there will more likely be a wait (I went on Saturday and there would have been a wait, but I sat at the bar). The mild-mannered, bearded bartender is also pretty cool.
I have no complaints whatsoever about Bricks. I have enjoyed the pizza more at one place I can think of, but it was not thin and crispy. And Bricks was just as eclectic. Also, their weekday specials are great. So do that. Right now... if it is a weekday.
This restaurant produces excellent thin style pizza. Â It's tasty but not too greasy, even with meat toppings. Â Furthermore, it has a great beer list and was nicely kid friendly (at least at a non-busy/non-noisy time of the day). Â We enjoyed the baked shrimp-garlic appetizer as well. Â And "two thumbs up" from our little one.
Negatives (all minor):
1. Pizza is cut in small squares rather then wedges.
2. While an excellent find here in Chicago, only "top" pizza will get 5 stars from me.
3. Dark/dive-bar setting: wouldn't mind going on a date for drinks here, but perhaps a bit too dark for my tastes as my "getting old" vision starts to fade...
Summary: if I lived in the area I would frequent Bricks often. Â However, I'm not sure I'd make a special trip to come here.
Awesome variety of pizzas and a PLETHORA OF BEERS AND DRAFTS!!! My creole skrimp pizza was really good!!! All at such reasonable prices as opposed to others... (cough::Piece::cough) Brick's has a great ambiance for a date night or catching up with friends. Wouldn't deem it "the best pizza in the world" (I've had the best in an inky dinky place in Germany ;)) yet they have seriously great pizza!!!
Review Source:So Bricks. Really tasty brick oven pizza. Thin and crispy, crunchy and tasty. It's down in the basement of a building in Lincoln Park, the little entrace area is kind of strange, and a little smelly, but once you get past that and into the restaurant the pizza is good. Had the painful without the pain (aka fresh jalapeno). It really hit the spot. They had a good beer selection on draft and in bottles. Anyone who's looking for a good brick oven pizza should head here.
Review Source:Now, before you guys start bashing one of the most controversial statement I have ever written, I must say that this is only true for the less than 5% of the pizza places I have tried in the city:
This is the BEST pizza you can get in Chicago, hands down.
OK, I know. People have different preferences. Thick vs thin, variety of toppings etc. Bricks is your good old thin crust pizza, and they make it to perfection. The toppings are so fresh that the Jalapeno's become a challenge to eat after the first bite. The tomato sauce and cheese is in perfect amounts, and the whole experience is amazing. The appetizer's are not bad, although the variety is very small.
In terms of the ambiance, it is located in the basement of some building, and you feel hesitant to go in at first. It is a very Pizza place feel, which is a good thing.
Give bricks a try, and if not the best, I can promise you that you would at least have had a very very good Pizza.
Om nom nom nom. Whew. After spending a day wandering around the Art Institute, we decided to try this little place out and boy I'm soo glad we did. Tucked away in Lincoln Park, it's a great little spot that's out of the way.
First off, it's divey and cool and dark and well awesome. The pesto bread was delicious. We went with the painful pizza but got it without the jalapenos. It was sooo good!!!! Holy whatever. I mean it's hard for me to say I love this pizza. But omg. I love Brick's pizza. Love. Amorous. Infatuated. It was so good from the sauce to the crust to the pepperoni (3 top things I grade). Bricks, you have made it to my top 5 pizza joints in the US. Congrats. Consider yourself lucky and I will be returning.
I ordered the green garden pizza (pesto sauce, mushroom, onions, sweet red peppers, fresh tomato and mozzarella) and asked if they could add pineapple. Â I say this with no exaggeration: this is probably the BEST thin crust pizza I've ever had in the United States. Only thin crust pizza I've had that tasted better was in Naples, Italy, but c'mon they INVENTED pizza. :P
I usually discard the crust, but I seriously ate every bit of each piece of pizza. I devoured it until I could eat no more. Cheese/topping ratio to bread/crust was PERFECT. The pineapple was the best addition, since I can't get enough of the simultaneous sweet & salty in my mouth. Â The fresh tomato was so delicious and refreshing and the pesto sauce (instead of marinara) gave the entire pizza a unique yet delicious kick. Â Pizza is typically known to be heavy and greasy or unhealthy, but I totally didn't feel sick after eating this pizza. Â It actually tasted healthy!
I want to order this again and again and again because it was just THAT good. I don't even like pizza all that much, but Bricks green garden pizza with pineapple has changed my mind.
I tried my husband's painful pizza, but I didn't like it that much. Â Probably because I'm not a huge pepperoni fan, so I can't really dock a star for that since I'm biased.
Overall, I can't wait to come back! Â I probably should try another type of pizza, but this was so memorable and amazing that I can't bring myself to order something else.
Years ago I'd made a mental note to remember to try their pies. Â The other night we were hanging in the LP so I made this our dinner destination. Â Chicago thin crust as some say. Â It talks about the thinness of the pizza. Â Not Wells brothers thin, but thin. Â That means not wafer thin.
We ordered a Painful pizza, it came topped with spicy pepperoni, purple onion, fresh jalapeno, garlic, tomato sauce and mozzarella. Â Was it spicy? Â I was drinking Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA's while waiting for the pie. Â I think my pores were drunken. Â When that pie arrived, we dived right in. Â The jalapeno slices were hot, plain slices that brought the heat. Â The spicy pepperoni added flavor to the sauce and we were perspiring. Â A large Za' almost defeated, with two slices left. Â
We were lucky to get a table for two on a crowded Friday night.  We called sometime  earlier and were told the wait could be forty five minutes to an hour.  We got in there a  few minutes later and got seated immediately.  It's located a floor below street level and has about fifteen or so tables seating about two to each.  Due to the way the bar and dining area are setup it makes it really easy to catch your waitress or see them, when drinks or items are needed.  Service was attentive and prompt.
Pizza pizza!
I love pizza. It's my best friend. With all those carbs and cheese and tomato sauces...mmm. I haven't met a pizza I didn't like.
The wonderful pizza streak continued with Bricks.
We made a res over the phone (which I recommend you do, because it gets BANANAS in there) for 6:30pm on a Friday. We showed up a little early and were immediately seated. Yippie!
The decor is dark (it's partially underground) with lots of bricks (duh). It's also pretty loud, so if you're trying to have an intimate conversation I'd suggest going somewhere else.
Anywho, awesome beer menu. It was Friday night and I was feeling fancy, so I got a Delirium Tremens. We skipped apps (I'll see you next time, Slutty Ravioli) and went straight for the 'za. I got the vegetarian and my husband got the red planet. It came out bubbly and piping hot, just as a pizza should.
Great crust/sauce/cheese ratio. The crust was crispy but still chewy - which is just delightful. The vegetarian had lots of veggies stacked high (and diced pretty finely, FYI) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I ate about 1/2 of the pizza before I had to stop. We had each ordered an 11", which is a little larger than an individual pie. My husband loved his pizza as well and ate it all.
We passed on dessert, paid and headed home. The rest of my pizza made an awesome breakfast (who needs Wheaties?!) and we'll be back. I want to try the BBQ chicken with gouda ZOMG next time.
I would say that Great Lake, Pizza DOC and Piece are still my favorite pie slingers in Chicago, but Bricks is solid and I wouldn't hesitate to come back.
On a Saturday night we came in with a last minute reservation for 10 people. Â The staff went out of their way to accomodate us even though they were packed. Â The customer service during the entire meal was fabulous. Â Â
On to the important part. Â The pizza was very good. Â Â We had the painful, which was incredibly unpainful but had great flavor (I credit the jalapenos being out of season with the lack of real heat so I can't blame Bricks). Â The cheese pizza was great and the belvedere was really good. Â Â Of course the star of the show was the slutty ravioli. Â This is just a cheese lover's paradise. Â Â
The place has such a great underground feel and it gets loud and boisterous, which is what you want sometimes from a pizza place.
I love pizza, that's no secret...and many places do thin crust, but I've only found 2 places in chicago that are really really good...ok now I've found 3.
This place has such a great homey feel. Â Initially when i walked down a stairwell and into what looked like an alley I was a bit nervous but wow what a great ambiance this place has.
The service is really good, our waitress was very friendly and really efficient.
I was starving so I ordered the pesto cheese bread..OMG heaven! Â I love pesto..but to put it on garlic bread and then put cheese on top..hello carb heaven!
The pizza was actually pretty perfect, not soggy, not over done, fresh ingredients, great sauce with lots of flavor that I didn't have to add anything to the pizza!
Pretty decent beer list as well.
definitely recommend it and I'll definitely come back soon!
Brick's is a winner on multiple levels.
Their interior is bar none my favorite out of all the great pizza spots in our city. It starts with the intimidating walk down into their restaurant, followed by the creepy door and hallway that feel like I'm about to do something illegal. The ceilings are incredibly low but the lighting, brick walls, and wooden table give this places its own unique charm.
The slutty Ravioli is hands down a cheese lovers must. If you saw the pictures, you probably know you'll already order it. They have an impressive selection of appetizers to choose from, surprising from a pizza joint too. Fresh colorful salads are great to have with the pizza too.
Bricks pizza selection is awesome. They have got something for everyone. Each pizza is loaded with the right amount of cheese and sauce with that crispy crust we all love. We had the Sweet Heat and the Creole Shrimp. Both were perfectly cooked and each held up with their own flavors and textures.
Brick's is a restaurant that would be awesome for take out, dining in, or not even getting food and just having a drink in their well stocked bar.
Had a neat (dive-bar esque) feel to it, in the basement of a building. Â This definitely helped the ambience factor quite a bit, as it was something different from any ordinary pizza place. Â Service was fine. Â Not sure the pizza is worth the $$ you pay for it though; I like thin crust pizza, but this was just nothing special. Â Don't get me wrong, it was good and I'd eat there again, but i don't think it's worth going out of your way for.
We got BBQ Chicken, Popeyes, Garden, and a Make-you-own (we got pepperoni) pizzas. Â The Garden and Popeyes went a little over kill on the toppings. Â The BBQ chicken was really good (probably the best pizza of our 4-pizza order), and the pepperoni was decent.
One of the major things that bothered me about Bricks was that they do not have a dessert menu!! Â They did have a good selection of beers though.
We had Bricks delivered on a freezing cold Friday night because we didn't want to leave the apartment. Delivery was prompt, only about 45 minutes, and the food was SO good! Slutty ravioli was the best choice we made all night, the sauce on those is fantastic. It's a large portion, but I have a very hungry boyfriend. He kept dipping his pizza into the leftover sauce...We took wayyy too much time debating what kind of pizza to order and ended up with half Red Planet and half Sweet Heat.
Red Planet features goat cheese, which I'm a big fan of, but it was pretty overpowering. I was also wishing there were more toppings, kind of lacking in the sausage and red pepper. The Sweet Heat was awesome, I don't think I've ever had Gouda on a pizza and it was delicious. Loved the spice coming from the jalapenos and the BBQ/tomato sauce was a winner. Really enjoyed both kinds, and it was fun to go back and forth between such different flavors, but Sweet Heat was definitely the winner. I'm eager to try their other kinds and will definitely be ordering the slutty ravioli again.
Bricks depends too much on its good looks.
Built into a basement grotto, Bricks feels old-worldy and is a nice switch from the modish style of other Chicago spots I've visited recently. High marks for authenticity. Â
But the pizza here is just "OK", possibly below average. Their specialty pizzas are loaded with the ingredients pizza purists don't tolerate -- pesto, BBQ chicken, goat cheese, smoked Gouda. The sheer amount of goat cheese on the "Red Planet" pie totally overpowered every other ingredient. Plain old pepperoni and cheese might be a better approach at Bricks. Â
The bar is small but features a killer beer list. A 22oz bottle of Fat Tire Amber Ale pairs well with even the worst pizza. They also have Delirium Tremens -- a rare Belgian beer that's 8.5% alcohol. No kidding around.
Finally, I called to check the wait before heading over and was told it was a half hour. But when I arrived ten minutes later the wait turned into an hour. Meh.
Was here a week ago on a Friday night with friends. The place is kinda underground and feels like you are entering a dungeon. The ceilings are low and the lighting is dark giving it more like a dungeon feel.
Well, onto the pizza - it is delicious thin crust pizza. We had the one with artichoke sauce, the green garden and the spicy one. All three were delicious and satisfying.
Underground clubby vibe!
The ambiance is something I least expected. Its kinda dark and you think you're going to enter a fight club. Once our party of 5 were seated, we tried a couple'a different strong Belgian and German ales. Since we were starving we ordered the baked goat cheese with garlic bread which was yum and also 3 of 12" inch pizzas. The Brickhouse with artichoke sauce, green garden with a pesto and the spicy special... all three were delicious! Great thin crust pizza place in the neighborhood.
Bricks is some of the best pizza I've had since the last time I had a tombstone pizza from the freezer. Â
I'm giving them two stars for having a unique ambiance and a decent beer list, although the draft list was limited. Â I give them no stars for the pizza (gross, I would actually have preferred the tombstone), and no stars for the service (do we even have a server?).
I have NO idea how a place like this survives in a city with such a ripe pizza culture! Â I would only recommend eating the pizza here if you came to hang out and drink beer and suddenly found yourself craving sub-par pizza. Â A situation when even cardboard will do. Â I won't lie, I've been in this situation before. Â But if you come here for the pizza, you will be sorely disappointed. Â Our salad was likewise very sad and pathetic and yet still cost like 7 dollars. Â Seriously?
Anyway, we came here out of desperation after the line at chicago pizza and oven grinder was eternally long one night. Â We looked on yelp for nearby eats and saw that bricks had 4 stars and decided to try it out. Â It's a mistake I won't make twice!
I'll keep it short and sweet: I'm pretty sure my husband didn't breathe as he inhaled the slutty ravioli. We went for dinner on a Saturday night and he was asking if we could go back Sunday for lunch. It was the kind of pizza that was so good I started to think about what I wanted to order the next time we eat there immediately after I took the first bite.
Overall, Bricks is a great hole-in-the-wall pizza place with pretty cheap (for Chicago) beers. You can't go wrong here!
Some of the best south side style pizza on the north side. The pies always come with the cheese a golden brown, the way it should be!!!
I used to live down the block and this was always my choice for thin crust. If you eat there, the dining area has the feel of an old school Chicago pizza pub, very cool!
I don't go in for the Chicago deep-dish pizza thing. Â So Bricks is a candidate for my favorite pizza in town.
The crust is hand-tossed, on the thin side but not paper-thin, and a little crisp. Â Toppings are generous and evenly distributed. Â The beer list is terrific, with some rare English and Belgian selections and rotating newcomers. Â We most often opt for a seat at the bar instead of a table, and have always been very well taken care of.
Bonus points for the subterranean location and a jukebox that leans heavily on Delta blues and Sinatra & friends.
Another reviewer said that this isn't a five-star dining experience. Â No, it's not Alinea, but what the hell? Â Relative to what it's trying to accomplish - great food & drink in a relaxed environment - it hits the mark squarely.
I feel like I have been let in on a secret. Â
Friday my friend suggested we go to Bricks. Â I had no idea what he was talking about. Â Pizza in Lincoln Park? - still not jogging my memory. Â
I had probably walked by Bricks a dozen times and never realized that it was a pizza place. Â It looks more like a staircase leading to a basement. Â Somewhat confused and curious I walked down the stairs - ok now what? Â You have to walk straight until out of no where you see a door which opens up to reveal the most hidden restaurant I have ever visited. Â I would not be surprised if this place used to be a speakeasy, and half expected to be asked for a password when I walked in.
I was so glad I went with a big group so we could try several pizzas. Â They offer 10, 12 and 14 inch pizzas. Â For 10 of us we decided to get four 10 inchers. Â It was the perfect amount. Â There was lots of discussion regarding which slice was our favorite, but we all have different favs. Â I really liked the BBQ chicken pizza. Â The menu has great options for vegetarians and meat lovers.
The beer and wine list was great. Â My only compliant was that the service was a little slow at the end of the night. Â The waitress gave us our bill but then kinda forgot about us for a while.
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